The Short Version: Although the world wide web is made for sharing information, you shouldn’t have to lay bare every personal detail and private communication whenever you’re online. All too often, that’s the price we pay for the convenience of the web — but no more. Since launching the private search revolution in 2006, the company behind StartPage has allowed their users to surf the web in complete privacy. The search engine guarantees they will never track, record, or store any information from browsers, so you’re free to wonder about fetishes, explore sex topics, and research sensitive issues without being followed by targeted ads or government agencies. In over 5 million daily searches, people trust StartPage to protect user anonymity and defend the right to privacy online.

On the Internet, users face a tug-of-war between information and privacy. How much do you want to know versus how much do you want others to know about you? As technology progresses, large corporations and governments seem intent on monitoring every keystroke an individual makes, recording details that can be used toward anything from a marketing campaign to a criminal investigation.

Recently, privacy advocates were shocked to learn that Yahoo helped the U.S. government surveil millions of emails by sweeping for certain keywords. Without warrant and without your knowledge, government officials could go through your most intimate conversations, under the guise of protecting the national interest. This is a cause for concern for anyone but can be especially troubling to daters sending personal messages through unsecure servers.

On a mission to protect the right to privacy in all online activity, StartPage’s search engine provides world-class, unbiased results and Qualys A+ rated security. The website delivers actual search results from Google without tracking, recording, sharing, or selling the user’s personal information. Now people can stay anonymous and ask any sensitive question without fear of being monitored by Big Brother.

StartPage’s SSL/TLS encryption protocol protects user data and stops eavesdroppers in their tracks. With this technology behind you, a search for a fetish or a private ailment won’t lead to embarrassing ads following you to other websites.

Based in the Netherlands, the privacy-focused company operates outside U.S. jurisdiction.

StartPage doesn’t store IP addresses, use tracking cookies, or record search histories. Unlike other private search engines, including DuckDuckGo, StartPage’s privacy promises are verified by an extensive third-party audit . They voluntarily undergo rigorous and transparent scrutiny so users know they’re on the up and up. To date, StartPage is the only search engine that goes to such lengths to give users that peace of mind.

“We believe privacy is a human right,” said Liz McIntyre, Consumer Privacy Expert and Spokesperson for StartPage. “In Europe, online privacy is enforced by law, but in the U.S. it’s pretty much a free-for-all, and people are tired of companies profiling them and following them around the Internet.”

Protecting the User’s Personal Details in Over 5M Daily Searches

People often desire privacy in their dating lives, and StartPage fulfills that demand with accuracy and integrity. Using the search engine, you’re free to follow your interests without inhibition. You can conduct sensitive research about sex, look at raunchy images, or get directions to a date, all without disclosing where you are or what you’re doing to third-party institutions.

In over 5 million searches a day (and more than 2 billion a year), StartPage provides Google’s search results without recording an individual’s search habits, IP address, or personal details. “Even if a government agent were ever to come knocking on our door demanding information,” Liz told us, “there would be none to get.”

The search engine’s ultimate goal is to make privacy accessible to everyone on the Internet. Surveillance is a global problem, and the team of passionate experts works hard to combat it on a global scale through consistent outreach and accountability.

As a Dutch company, Startpage is uniquely suited to rebuff attempts to spy on the public. Its location in Europe puts it outside the U.S. jurisdiction, so it doesn’t have to cooperate with U.S. data collection mandates. The website staunchly refuses to cooperate withU.S. government surveillance programs, like PRISM, and U.S. surveillance laws, like the Patriot Act.

“We’ve been growing in leaps and bounds,” Liz said, “and we’ve seen a surge in recent years as people have become more privacy-conscious.”

Their Proxy Feature Hides IP Addresses From Other Websites

When StartPage loads their search results, they add special features to make navigating for answers more secure and user-friendly. Their free proxy service, for example, helps maintain a user’s privacy on other sites.

StartPage has the distinction of being the only third-party certified for privacy.

By clicking the “proxy” link, which appears with search result on StartPage, you can shield your IP address from the website you visit. This way, when you check out a dating site or matchmaking service, the company can’t ID and track you.

The ability to stay anonymous on other sites, not just on StartPage, lends an even greater sense of security to users on the search engine.

“We were first to implement the free proxy service, and we are still the only ones with that feature,” Liz said. “Before privacy was even cool, we made it a priority of our search engine. That emphasis has evolved over time, and today we’re preeminent in the search privacy field.”

StartMail: Disposable Emails Let Online Daters Remain Anonymous

Sometimes online daters don’t want to give out their primary contact information to random strangers. Sometimes they want to go by an alias or have an exit strategy, just in case. In those instances, savvy singles can use StartMail to chat anonymously and securely online. Their email service uses PGP, the gold standard of encryption tech, to keep your correspondence out of the public eye.

StartMail’s one-click PGP encryption is easy to use but provides state-of-the-art email privacy. “Our customers have the option to encrypt their email messages and attachments like a pro so they aren’t visible to services like Yahoo,” Liz explained. “Encrypted email messages can only be decrypted and made readable by a recipient with the right secret answer or key.”

To read your encrypted email, your contact will have to correctly input a private key or answer a security question you provide. Without the decryption code, the message and any attachments just look like gobbledygook to snoops and other interlopers.

For a yearly subscription, you can enjoy even other important email protections, including unlimited disposable aliases. StartMail lets their members create burner email addresses so you don’t have to share your personal contact information to sign up to a social network or message a new acquaintance online. People in the online dating community can give out disposable email addresses to stay safe while flirting at will.

“It’s a pretty cool feature. You can still get emails sent to your inbox without giving out your personal email address,” Liz said, “and you can get rid of that alias and cut that relationship off if it becomes a problem.”

Freedom & Privacy for All: A Search Engine Dedicated to Consumers

StartPage, a pioneer in online privacy, delivers maximum security and convenience to people around the globe. Unlike Yahoo and other U.S.-based corporations, this search engine can’t disclose the personal information of their users — because none is ever stored.

For daters who could potentially share their sexual preferences, health details, or other intimate revelations in a single search, StartPage offers some much-needed anonymity on the web. On the site, you can get the answer or help you require without outing your private life to faceless entities online.

“Search engine anonymity is important for anyone,” Liz said, “but maybe even more so for people who are dating and researching sensitive information online about topics like sex and sexuality.”

As a matter of policy, the search engine does not support recording IP addresses, does not collect personal data, and does not share user information with any third-party organizations — regardless of governmental pressures or monetary incentives.

“There are other private search engines, but StartPage offers the best of two worlds: we deliver Google search results that people love, but with StartPage’s own privacy safeguards. Google never sees our users and neither do we.”

As the editor-in-chief of DatingAdvice.com, I oversee content strategy, social media engagement, and media opportunities. When I'm not writing about cheese or my 20-year love affair with Leonardo DiCaprio, I'm listening to The Beatles, watching Harry Potter reruns (I'm a proud Slytherin!), or drinking IPAs.

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